The finger of blame was pointed by former NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who tweeted “Just Heard Who The Snitch Was,” and then “Bingo!” when asked if it was Shockey, who has adamantly denied turning on his team.

“It’s reckless, it’s careless, it’s hurtful to me and the great time I had with the Saints,” said free agent tight end Jeremy, who twice offered to take a polygraph test to prove his innocence, reported Yahoo! Sports.

“Sean Payton is a father figure to me. I would never do that to him or to the Saints. I have been to his son’s birthday parties. I’ve had my family around him. We’re friends,” explained Shockey, who scored the winning touchdown in the New Orleans’ Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts in 2009. “I loved my time in New Orleans and now people are killing me on social media thinking I did this.”

The harsh punishment resulted from an in-depth investigation by the NFL, which found that more than 20 defensive players for the Saints participated in a ‘bounty’ system from 2009 to 2011 that rewarded individuals with cash for harming opposing players. The cash pool reached $50,000 during the 2009 playoffs when players were paid $1,500 for a “knockout” and $1,000 for a “cart-off.”

The underhand and very public accusation by NFL Network analyst Sapp goes against the football league’s policy of not turning in sources, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has repeatedly said he would protect “whistleblowers” who reported violations of league policy.

As for Sapp, he is defending his actions, and his source. “My source that was close to the situation informed me that Jeremy Shockey is the one that was the snitch initially. I trust my source unequivocally,” he declared.

In addition to sacrificing their highly respected head coach for a year, the Saints will also lose their second round picks in the 2012 and 2013 NFL drafts and be fined $500,000, while former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was suspended indefinitely, and general manager Mickey Loomis is banned from the first eight regular-season games, reported ESPN.com.